The Israel Lobby Con EXTRA! Podcast

Best of: Col. Lawrence Wilkerson "Israeli influence on U.S. foreign policy"

The following is the full March 18, 2016 presentation given by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson. His last positions in government were as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff (2002-05), Associate Director of the State Department's Policy Planning staff under the directorship of Ambassador Richard N. Haass, and member of that staff responsible for East Asia and the Pacific, political-military and legislative affairs (2001-02).

Before serving at the State Department, Wilkerson served 31 years in the U.S. Army. During that time, he was a member of the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College (1987-1989), Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93), and Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia (1993-97). Wilkerson retired from active service in 1997 as a colonel, and began work as an adviser to General Powell. He has also taught national security affairs in the Honors Program at George Washington University. He is currently working on a book about the first George W. Bush administration. He currently is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. 

Transcript: https://www.israelsinfluence.org/transcripts/lawrence_wilkerson.html

Video: https://youtu.be/Sox6MoiiMic

IsraelLobbyCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ 

Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

Best of: Ilan Pappé "Decolonizing Israel"

The following is the full March 24, 2017 presentation given by Ilan Pappé at IsraelLobbyCon at the National Press Club. Pappe is a Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter in the UK

Best of: Ilan Pappé "Decolonizing Israel"

The following is the full March 24, 2017 presentation given by Ilan Pappé at IsraelLobbyCon at the National Press Club. 

Ilan Pappé is Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter in the UK. His research focuses on the modern Middle East, particularly on the history of Israel and Palestine. He is the author of the books The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2007), Israel and South Africa: the Many Faces of Apartheid (2015) and The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge (2016), among others. He will discuss the value of viewing Israel-Palestine through the lens of settler-colonialism, how Zionist myths have been shaped and/or perpetuated by the Israel lobby, and what framework is necessary to overcome these myths and ensure that efforts to resolve the "conflict" are grounded in reality.

Transcript: https://2017.israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Transcripts/Ilan_Pappe.html

Video: https://youtu.be/x_1uWD86Mv4

IsraelLobbyCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ 

Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

Resisting Israel’s Lobby on Campus and in the Community - Robin D.G. Kelley

On April 24, 2021 Robin D.G. Kelley discussed the current state of resisting Israel and its lobby’s efforts on campus. He gave an overview of the parallels between South Africa and the movement toward Palestinian liberation, and addressed the questions: How are Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian grassroots movements working together, and are they natural allies? Was the much-vaunted Black-Jewish civil rights alliance ever based on anything more than oppression? What is the basis of a Black-Palestinian alliance? What lessons are there for today’s activists? 

Robin D.G. Kelley's research has explored, among other topics, the history of social movements in the U.S., the African Diaspora and Africa; black intellectuals; music and visual culture; and Surrealism and Marxism. His essays have appeared in a wide variety of professional journals as well as general publications, including the Journal of American History, American Historical Review, The Nation, Monthly Review, New York Times, Color Lines, Counterpunch, Souls, Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noir, Social Text, The Black Scholar, Journal of Palestine Studies, and Boston Review, for which he also serves as contributing editor.
 
Kelley's books include  Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012); Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original  (The Free Press, 2009); Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (Beacon Press, 2002); with Howard Zinn and Dana Frank, Three Strikes: The Fighting Spirit of Labor's Last Century (Beacon Press, 2001); Yo’ Mama’s Disfunktional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America (Boston: Beacon Press, 1997); Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class  (New York: The Free Press, 1994); Into the Fire: African Americans Since 1970  (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) [Vol. 10 of the Young Oxford History of African Americans series];  and Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990). 

Transcript and Video at https://www.wrmea.org/end-u.s.-support-for-israeli-apartheid/robin-d.g.-kelley-resisting-israels-lobby-on-campus-and-in-the-community.html

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

From an Israel-Centric to a Rights-Based Approach - Zaha Hassan

Zaha Hassan outlines how the Biden administration can break the Middle East peace impasse by adopting a rights-based—rather than an Israel and its lobby based—approach as the center of its strategy. Why has the current one-sided approach favoring Israel produced only serial failures? How would a rights-based approach transcend violence, dispossession, discrimination and occupation? What are the policy options? Why is a rights-based approach a far better look for the United States?

Zaha Hassan is a human rights lawyer and visiting fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research focus is on Palestine-Israel peace, the use of international legal mechanisms by political movements, and U.S. foreign policy in the region. Previously, she was the coordinator and senior legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for UN membership, and was a member of the Palestinian delegation to Quartet-sponsored exploratory talks between 2011 and 2012.

She regularly participates in track II peace efforts and is a contributor to The Hill and Haaretz. Her commentaries have appeared in the New York Times, Salon, Al Jazeera English, CNN, and others.

Transcript and Video at: https://www.wrmea.org/end-u.s.-support-for-israeli-apartheid/zaha-hassan-from-an-israel-centric-to-a-rights-based-approach.html

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​
Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

Palestinians Confronting the Giant of Christian Zionism - Alex Awad

Rev. Alex Awad describes the efforts of Palestinian Evangelicals and other church leaders to confront the “Goliath” of Christian Zionism. What are they doing to stop the spread of Christian Zionism in many U.S. churches? How is Christian Zionism impacting Christians actually living under Israel’s apartheid regime? Rev. Awad describes the work of PCAP, Sabeel and other Christian organizations, and their efforts to halt Israeli actions endorsed by Zionist Christians, such as the confiscation of Palestinian land, the demolition of homes and the construction of segregated Jewish settlements.

Rev. Dr. Alex Awad is a retired United Methodist Missionary. He and his wife, Brenda, served in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem for more than 25 years. Rev. Awad served as pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church, dean of students at Bethlehem Bible College, and director of the Shepherd Society.

Transcript and Video at https://www.wrmea.org/end-u.s.-support-for-israeli-apartheid/rev.-alex-awad-palestinians-confronting-the-giant-of-christian-zionism.html

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep). See http://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org for more information about this conference.

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

Ideological Underpinnings of the War on Terrorism - Scott Horton

As detailed in his new book, Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, Israel and its U.S. lobby were key proponents of the disastrous 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, as well as providing the ideological underpinnings of a "global war on terror." Today they are virtually alone in advocating a U.S. war on Iran. How likely is it that the Biden administration will attack Iran? What would be the consequences?

Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org.

He has conducted more than 5,400 interviews since 2003.

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

Horton's 2017 book is titled Fool's Errand: Time to End the War on Afghanistan.

Video and transcript available at https://www.wrmea.org/end-u.s.-support-for-israeli-apartheid/scott-horton-ideological-underpinnings-of-the-war-on-terrorism.html

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

The Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism - Tom Suárez

Tom Suárez discussed the recently issued Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA): Does the JDA intend to replace the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition that pro-Israel interests have pushed on institutions and governments, or instead consider itself “a tool for interpreting” IHRA? Why do 11 of the JDA’s 15 “Guidelines'' involve Israel? What does “hostility to Israel” have to do with a definition of antisemitism? Why does the JDA consider the question of how much influence the Israeli state exerts beyond its still-undefined borders irrelevant, except when that alleged influence is said to be synonymous with “the Jews”? Why can every other nation on earth be criticized both fairly and unfairly, but when the Israeli state is criticized that criticism is stigmatized as constituting racism against an ethnicity? Does focusing on the definition of antisemitism deflect attention from the core issue of Israel’s denial of human rights to its Palestinians citizens and to the Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation?

Tom Suárez is best known for his 2016 book, State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel, described by Ilan Pappé as “the first comprehensive and structured analysis of the violence and terror employed by the Zionist movement and later the state of Israel against the people of Palestine.” Suárez's recent Writings on the Wall is an annotated collection of Palestinian oral histories, and he is the author as well of three highly-regarded books on the history of cartography. A Juilliard-trained violinist who has performed around the world, Suárez is a former faculty member of Palestine’s National Conservatory of Music.

Transcript and Video at https://www.wrmea.org/end-u.s.-support-for-israeli-apartheid/tom-suarez-the-jerusalem-declaration-on-anti-semitism.html

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep). See http://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org for more information about this conference.

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

How the Israel Lobby Intervenes in Progressive Party Politics - Asa Winstanley

What are the similarities and differences between Labour Friends of Israel in the UK and Democratic Majority for Israel in the U.S.? What purpose do they serve? Did the recent sabotage and purge of major progressive leaders like Jeremy Corbyn who are progressive on Israel-Palestine come from within or outside their party? What connections were revealed in Al Jazeera's undercover investigative documentary The Lobby between Israel's UK embassy and Labour Party leaders in the UK, and what has been the long-term impact? Is the false charge that politicians "tolerate anti-Semitism" now effective enough to stifle debate on Israeli policies and influence? What other tools beside defamation do Israel and its lobbies deploy to derail politicians willing to hold Israel to account? Can politicians under attack survive by mollifying the lobby? Does anything similar ever occur within the Conservative Party? If not, why not?

Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist living in London who writes about Palestine and the Middle East. He has been visiting Palestine since 2004. He writes for the award-winning Palestinian news site The Electronic Intifada, where he is an associate editor and co-host of The Electronic Intifada Podcast. He also writes a regular column for the Middle East Monitor. 

Transcript and Video at https://www.wrmea.org/end-u.s.-support-for-israeli-apartheid/asa-winstanley-how-the-israel-lobby-intervenes-in-progressive-party-politics.html

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep). See http://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org for more information about this conference.

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

J Street and the Limitations of Liberal Zionism - Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is an American journalist who founded and co-edits Mondoweiss.

Mondoweiss is "a news website devoted to covering American foreign policy in the Middle East, chiefly from a progressive Jewish perspective," with journalist Adam Horowitz.

Weiss describes himself as an anti-Zionist and rejects the label "post-Zionist."

Philip Weiss presented a J Street roundup: "Key reflections about liberal Zionism's most significant annual policy conference."

IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep). See http://www.IsraelApartheidCon.org for more information about this conference.

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​ Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org

How the U.S. Shields Israel From U.N. Accountability - Ian Williams

Ian Williams provides a brief history of both Republican and Democratic administrations’ sycophantic relations with Israel and how this relationship affects U.S. policies toward the U.N. and international law. Will Washington continue to discredit and deflect all U.N. criticism of apartheid Israel with charges of bias and anti-Semitism? Will President Biden work for a rule-based world order, or will he shamelessly insist those rules do not apply to Israel or the U.S.? Does his appointment of career diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. mean Biden is actually serious about human rights and adherence to international law?

Ian Williams is president of the Foreign Press Association (New York) and longtime U.N. columnist for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

He is the author of ten books, including UNtold: the Real Story of the United Nations in Peace and War. IsraelApartheidCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs website: https://WRMEA.org​

Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy: https://IRmep.org